When I was in 9th grade I made a decision that would guide the next 6 years.  I was under the care of a family of orthodontists in Fullerton and thought that putting wires on teeth would be a great profession to be part of.  I went through high school with that in mind.  I majored in general biology at UC Irvine in order to go to dental school.  Needless to say I changed my mind, a singular event that occurred the Friday night prior to the day I was scheduled to take my Dental Admissions Test (DAT).  I simply never showed up for that test.  Why?  It was, as it always is, a woman’s fault.

            My fiancée of two years at that time, who would become my wife that same summer, suffered from such severe and unrelenting headaches that when I met her she would take 16-18 Excedrin per day.  This habit would later lead to ulcers that brought her uncomfortably close to death due to severe anemia.  This was the same habit that actually did cause her grandmother to die of a bleeding ulcer.  But my fiancée found help from a chiropractor.  It didn’t cure the problem, but it helped tremendously and just perhaps, it may have save her life by allowing her to reduce her medication intake.  And it motivated me. 

            To make a very long story very short, I went through chiropractic college, internship, several years working for another chiropractor and all the headaches of starting and running my own practice to help people, and along the way I have found that there are many different types of people that I can help.  I assume I have helped you with something.  I have also helped folks with migraines, headaches, back pain, neck pain, arm pain, sciatic nerve pain, herniated discs, degenerated discs, scoliosis, whiplash, seizures, ear infections, pneumonia, asthma, partial paralysis, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, hip, knee, ankle and foot problems, double vision (twice), breach babies, transverse babies, sunny side up babies, back pain of pregnancy, Bell’s palsy, vertigo, sports injuries, improved athletic performance, dislocated shoulders, and many other conditions.  How did I do all of this?  Simply, I adjusted their subluxations.  The subluxation spares no one and causes much suffering.  The adjustment…one of the most amazing healing tools discovered by man. 

            I have helped reduce and eliminate pain, improve mobility, slow and stop spinal degenerative joint disease, and even saved and prolonged life.  Each time I have had the privilege to do this it has started with a conversation.  Recently we started a fun promotion to ask you, help you, and motivate you to create more of these conversations between me and the people you care most about. 

            I ask each patient to help create just one conversation.  Keep your eyes and ears open.  Carry the referral cards.  Tell them about the referral code on www.drlindwall.com.  A $50 exam, x-rays, report, massage, and adjustment should speak entirely for itself. 

                                                               One conversation.  Thank you.

                

Science has discovered a medical condition that humans pose a 90% risk of contracting in our lifetime.  This same condition is more likely to cause you permanent disability than any other single condition on the planet.  The damage this condition makes is always 100% irreversible.  Said Dr. Tapio Videman, Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki, it is “permanent and irreversible.” 

This condition has been known to begin while in the womb.  Dr. Gottfried Gutmann, M.D. concluded from his research on newborns that more than 80% suffer from its initial stages at birth. 

Sadly, at the early stages of this condition x-ray, MRI, CT, and blood work will be completely useless in identifying it.  By the age of 18 or so, early MRI changes may begin to be visible, but for obvious reasons these are only done if the teenager is exhibiting obvious and significant symptoms.  More often, the condition continues under the radar all through the 20’s and even into the 30’s, going completely undetected.  However, by the 40’s most are starting to experience symptoms.  By the 50’s, as we pass middle age, that 90% contraction rate is getting closer and closer to being realized.  In fact, many 50 year olds are already disabled by it, and many more will suffer the same fate in the coming decades, assuming they live that long.

            That same Dr. Gutmann said that one of the early symptoms from this condition is repetitive upper respiratory infections.  Other breathing problems are not uncommon as complications from this condition, including pneumonia and asthma. 

            Dr. Videman concluded that while the condition is never reversible, with proper care its forward progression can be stopped in many cases, and certainly slowed down.

            A Dr. Abraham Towbin, M.D., found that it can be triggered by routine mild childhood traumas which are also accompanied by undiagnosed internal bleeding.

            The Department of Cell and Molecular Biology of Tumor Immunology in Sweden found that this condition may increase our susceptibility to genetic mutation.

            Migraines, muscle tension headaches, and sinus headaches are common complications.

            One possible cause of disability from it is the inability to bear your own weight due to pain.  Disability can also occur from complete paralysis of some of the leg muscles.  This paralysis can occur after years of atrophy, or sometimes within days or weeks of the first onset of symptoms.

            I remember one patient who’s right arm was partially paralyzed and he had no feeling in the hand due to it. 

            In rare and extreme cases emergency surgery may be required due to the loss of bowel and bladder control.

            Although the condition is caused by environmental factors, genetics play a role by predisposing you to certain traits that make the progression either more or less rapid. 

           Unlike what you might think, diagnosis of the condition is usually easy, inexpensive, and non-invasive.  I’ve had the exam.  So have you.  What about the people you care about?

If I were to ask you what I meant by the “F” word, unfortunately, you would know precisely what I meant.  But one letter earlier in the alphabet creates a conundrum of sorts.  What is the “E” word?  What does it mean?  Is it bad?  Can I say it in public?  Sadly, I suspect the “E” word is used less by some folks than how often they use the “F” word.  But the “E” word is far more important to your future.  To a large extent it determines how long your physical body lasts.  Contrary to many, it doesn’t need to be used as often as you might think to get optimal use from it, perhaps 3 times each week is enough.  It doesn’t need to be used as intensely as others might suggest.  But it does need to be used moderately, regularly, and for a lifetime.  Simply, the “E” word is exercise.  Now wait, don’t turn away.  Keep reading.  Don’t be scared.  It’s not as bad as you think.  I’m going to explain some simple truths regarding E that you may not have been aware of.  And it starts with this.  “In order to succeed you first must not fail.”  You can quote me on that.

IN ORDER TO SUCCEED, YOU FIRST MUST NOT FAIL - The only way you will ever succeed at anything, and E in particular, is to make sure you set up a system in which you can ensure you do not fail.  This begins with my Rule of 1’s.  The Rule of 1’s acknowledges that no matter what E you choose to do, there will be times when you just can’t get it done.  You might be sick, or travelling, or just plain busy.  In those cases the Rule of 1’s says that you will never go 1 week without doing your exercise 1 time.  The rule of 1’s.  This is not success, but it prevents failure.  If you miss 1 week it is easy to miss 2, and then it is hard to get started again.

VANITY EXERCISE IS OPTIONAL – I have nothing against vanity exercise as I call it, but abs for abs sake, or buns of steel to impress the opposite sex will not help you live longer or actually help your health in any way.  Go for it if you like, but for the rest of us mortals I boil the whole E process down to the following steps.

AEROBIC – If you want to weigh less, eat less.  But if you want to live longer, move.  Pick the aerobic E that suits you best and do it for 45 minutes 3 times per week.  Remember the Rule of 1’s.  If interested I started the HAWK Hiking And Wellness Klub to support those of you who want to hike as part of your aerobic life.

TONING – If you are walking, hiking, biking, and therefore working out your heart and lower body, then the only real toning E that you NEED is very simple, pushups.  But not on the floor.  Rather, do them with your hands on a coffee table, or higher up for the newbie.  This reduces stress on the shoulders and therefore the risk of injury, something that will become more and more important as you age.

STRETCHING – Every patient knows of my Disc Pump Exercises.  We should all be doing these daily.  Not only do they activate the life giving disc pump, they also stretch your spine, your hips, your knees, and your shoulders.  2 minutes a day is all you need. 

THAT’S ALL FOLKS – I will never discourage you from enjoying any form of exercise, but when it comes down to it, when you look at what needs to be done for your future health and mobility, when considering risks of injury and longevity, and when taking into account your gradual aging, when you combine an aerobic program with some pushups and my disc pump stretching exercises you will find that simply put, that’s all most of us will “need” for a long healthy mobile life.  They are the necessities.  The rest is optional.

QUESTION – If you could see into your future and then change anything in your past, would you?  I would, and did…well sort of.          

             When I was 39 I applied for a life insurance policy and had to take a physical.  My blood pressure was borderline high and I was 50 pounds heavier.  I barely passed the physical.  Less than a year later I ended up in the hospital after passing out while driving my family out of town on Memorial weekend.  I did manage to get the car safely to the side of the road and in park before I passed out.  The pain in my chest was the subtle clue that prompted me to get to the side of the road.  I did not have a heart attack but I did certainly get a very clear glimpse into my future if I did not change my past.  But I could not change the past that had created my present.  However, I did have control over my present, which I vowed to change one thing at a time.  I knew that if I changed my present then my future-past would be completely altered and my past-future would be much brighter.  Get all that?

            My life’s work centers around getting you, the reader, to not wait until you are hospitalized in order to take a hard look at your future.  I want you to change your present to alter your future.  One way to look at your future is to look at your parents, or perhaps look at people you know who have led similar lifestyles as yourself.  Or just use your imagination based upon what we know are good and bad things for a healthy future.

            Do you not drink enough water?  - Drink more.

            Are you overweight? – Lose weight.

            Do you not exercise enough? – Exercise more.

            Do you smoke? – Stop.

            Do you not take supplements? – Start.

            Do you drink too much alcohol? – Stop.

            Do you drink too much soda? – Stop.

            Do you have a bad diet? – Clean it up.

            Some will argue, “You don’t know how hard it is to _____ (fill in the blank).”  Yes I do.  With the exception of smoking, which I have never done, I personally did all of the above things, one at a time.  I do not accept that you cannot do whatever you put your mind to.  You can.  If I can so can you.  I am no stronger than you.  In most cases the only difference between us is that I have been hospitalized for my lifestyle, while hospitalization is still in your future.  But the odds are it will come. 

            You may notice that none of the above are related to chiropractic.  For that I will just add two things that I do that you should, get adjusted weekly for the rest of your life and do my disc pump exercises every day.  Make these changes to your present and your future will be much healthier.  To accomplish them ask about my “Just One More Thing” plan.

Which controls your future, your strengths or your weaknesses??

As a patient at Southridge Chiropractic here is a list of benefits and options you might be interested in knowing about.  If you have any questions about any of them, please ask.  We love questions.

-          CHILDREN ARE FREE – As long as there is one paying adult children are treated for either Reconstructive or Wellness care at no charge.

-          DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE – The following discounts are available depending upon your phase of care.

o   Intensive Care – Pre-pay 6 visits and save $5 per visit.

o   Intensive Care – Second family member gets $10 discount. 

o   Reconstructive/Wellness Care – Pre-pay 6 months and save 15%.

o   Reconstructive/Wellness Care – Second family member gets $29 discount.

o   Intensive/Reconstructive/Wellness Care – We have a one year plan that incorporates all three phases of care into one easy monthly payment.

-          CHIROPRACTIC INSURANCE – Once you qualify for Reconstructive or Wellness Care, if you get hurt or otherwise need a return to Intensive Care the additional visits are at no additional charge above your normal monthly fee.*

-          MASSAGE DISCOUNTS – The Massage Club offers you savings on monthly massages and more.

-          HEALTH RESOURCE – Dr. Rick is always available to help and advise you in your health questions and issues, both related and unrelated to the spine.  Questions are welcome or write to the above email address.  He will always get back within a day.

-          DATABASE OF HEALTH INFORMATION – At the above blog site you will find Dr. Rick’s 100+ articles on chiropractic, health, wellness, exercise, weight loss, pediatrics, pregnancy, cancer, medicine and so much more. More than likely he has addressed your question(s) in one of these articles.    

-          HIKING CLUB – Dr. Rick’s Mountain Hiking Club is designed to get you moving in general, and to get you to the top of mountains eventually.  There is no charge to participate in these monthly hikes other than the Adventure Pass to park on State land.

-          QUALIFICATIONS – In Dr. Rick’s 27 years he has probably seen it before.  Plus he’s certified in Whiplash Traumatology and Automobile Crash Forensic Risk Analysis.  He’s 6 for 6 in converting breach babies using the ultra-safe Webster’s Technique.  He has considerable training and experience in chiropractic pediatrics.  He’s developed his own program of care, the Lindwall Method, utilizing the 3 examination model (range of motion, Total Subluxation Value, and complicating factors), along with the 3 tool model of treatment which includes the chiropractic adjustment, Dr. Rick’s own Disc Pump Exercises, and deep tissue therapy. 

-          WELL ADJUSTED KIDS CLUB – We have a dedicated room for your kids to safely play in.  It’s behind the wall of photos of perhaps half the kids Dr. Rick has adjusted. 

* To remain legal with the Insurance Commissioner, this is not technically insurance since we are not an insurance co.    The two exceptions to this program are if you have a new Personal Injury or Workers Comp Injury.

Statements you will probably never hear:  “My grandfather clock broke so I took it to my pastor to get fixed,”  “Hey, I’ve got this great barber than fixed my laptop camera,”  “We had our new puppy fixed at Denny’s.”  Your pastor may be able to save your soul, and your barber can fix your hair, and Denny’s may make a mean Superbird sandwich, but they do not fix clocks, repair laptops, or spay dogs.  They are limited in their services.  Similarly your chiropractor is not going to prescribe chemotherapy for your cancer, or beta-blockers for your high blood pressure.  We don’t do chemical treatment.  We use mechanical treatment to fix mechanical problems.  That makes sense.  You treat chemical problems with chemistry, psychological problems with psychology, and visual problems with optimetrics.  Why would you ever use psychotherapy to treat near sightedness?  How about using a dental drill to treat a heart attack?  Then why do so many medical doctors continue to treat mechanical spine problems with chemistry, medications, drugs?  The answer is simple, they do it because it is the only tool they have in their tool box.  Well, that’s not exactly true.  They do have a second tool with which to treat your mechanical problem, a scalpel.  If the drugs don’t work, they can cut it out or fuse it.  Yay!  Does any of this make sense yet?  The lesson here is that you have to know the limitations.

In the case of your spine you need to remember some simple facts:

1)      Your joints are made of two bones separated by cartilage.

2)      Cartilage has no blood supply so it relies completely upon motion to get the vital food, water, and oxygen it needs to live.

3)      Time, life, and gravity cause daily inflammation in the joints of your spine either through postural stress or various degrees and forms of injury.

4)      Inflammation can be measured by the TSV.  If it gets high enough…PAIN!

5)      Inflammation creates scar tissue, also called adhesions, or fibrous tissue, or gristle.

6)      Scar tissue binds the joints of your spine reducing the motion of the joints.

7)      Loss of motion causes the cartilage to begin to wear out which is OBSERVABLE IN JUST TWO WEEKS per the work of Dr. Tapio Vidamin at the University of Helsinki, Finland.      

Question:  Where in the above equation will drugs solve the problem?  Answer:  Nowhere.

            The solution is very simple:

1)      Adjustments to break the scar tissue to restore motion.

2)      Stretches to help prevent the return of the scar tissue.

3)      Return to step #1 because Time, Life, and Gravity act on the spine every day!!

That’s generally it.  The ONLY exceptions are those with significant complicating factors such as those in which the cartilage wear is so severe as to limit the results.  The natural extension of the above is that the sooner in life one begins adjustments and the stretches, the better.           

             

            Imagine in your mind’s eye you are skiing very fast down a medium steep slope.  It is late winter so the temperatures are brisk but you are comfortable in your gear. The snow is a bit on the slushy side.  You can feel the snow gliding underneath your feet and the cold buffeting you, and hear the roar of the wind rushing passed your ears.  It’s like flying but not.  Suddenly and without any warning you have fallen face first straight forward landing flat on the snow, almost spread eagle, with your head downhill from your feet.  Your skis have flown off as they are supposed to during a serious fall.  It feels as if someone is dragging you face down, head first, at a high rate of speed straight downhill.  Your eyes are closed and all you can feel is the snow underneath your face and body as you, foot by foot, dig a trough in the snow with your head and body.  Then, due to the momentum of the speed you were travelling before you fell and the fact that your body is moving faster than your head, your feet and body begin to lift off the ground, and fold over your head and neck, increasingly bending your neck.  Pretty soon, your face is the only part of your body that is touching the earth as your body, legs, and feet are speeding downhill above your head.  It is an odd phenomenon that during moments like this, time seems to slow down, and you are thinking to yourself, “So this is what it feels like to break your neck.  I wonder if I’ll hear it snap.”  Your neck has reached its limit of tolerance for extension and tension in general.  If something does not happen soon, the ligaments that hold your spine together are going to rupture and the bones of the neck will slice or sever your spinal cord.  Quadriplegia, paraplegia, death.  Just as your mind has accepted your immediate future, your head literally snaps out of the trough it has dug and you land on your back with your feet downhill from your head. 

You are lying on your back facing the sky and you immediately begin damage assessment.  You are still alive.  Good.  You still feel your hands and feet.  Better.  You can move them.  Best.  Anything broken?  You gingerly get up to your feet and quickly realize that you were in full view of the riders on the chairlift.  It is a convention among skiers to cheer a spectacular fall as long as the person is not obviously hurt.  You get your requisite cheers from your audience as they are appreciative of your fall, and that it was you and not them. 

You find your skis, strap them on, and in a slightly dizzy state limp down to the ski lodge where your spouse and child are waiting for you.  This was the planned last run.  You decided you are going to downplay your fall, but the first thing they say to you as their faces convey a look of shock is, “What happened to you?”  How did they know, you wonder?  What gave it away?  Was it the look in your eyes?  “Why do you ask?”  “You have blood all over your face,” they explode.  It turns out that the ice crystals in the snow cut the skin all over your face so not only do you have a severe neck injury, but your face is going to scab over in the next few days so everyone will be staring at you asking, “What happened to you?”  So over and over you will be forced to tell the story of how you were skiing too fast for the conditions causing your right ski’s edge to catch, literally nearly killing or permanently disabling you.   

            This is certainly one of the most serious neck injuries I have encountered, right up there with the body surfing one that tore the disc away from the bone.  The reason I can tell this in such detail is that I was the skier.  It was my carelessness, my face (which explains a lot, right?), and it was my neck.  Since joints are made of cartilage and cartilage has no blood supply, there is always some permanent damage from such an injury, but I underwent a fresh course of Intensive Care to heal the injury and minimize the damage, and then I returned to my normal Wellness Care.  Even chiropractors need a good chiropractor.

For those of you who have known me for some time you have likely heard me talking about my mother, my personal muse of health.  She is 95 years old and physically amazingly healthy, perhaps the proof of which is that the only medication she takes is OTC analgesics for her worn out joints.  She has exercised every day, taken vitamins, carefully watched her diet and weight, and tried everything else she could find in her reading of the magazine, Prevention, which she has subscribed to since the 1960’s.  I do remember on the 4th of July when I was 12 her appendix ruptured, necessitating an emergency appendectomy and a tense few days to make sure that the infection did not spread too far.  This proved to me that even the healthiest among us get sick.  You can’t prevent everything.  And although we all get sick, I feel I have a responsibility to myself, my family, my children, my grandchildren, and to my patients to be as much like my mom as I can be when it comes to prevention.  And in particular prevention of what I might call the top 5, the things that are most likely to kill or disable you.

            To start, let’s look at the 4 largest causes of death in order: 1) Heart Disease, 2) Cancer, 3) Medical Practice (I’m not making this up), 4) Diabetes.  And the condition that causes more disability than any other: 5) Degenerative Disease of the Spine.  When it comes to time and money spent to help to prevent any condition that will eventually lead to your death or disability, the above are the top 5 for most of us to focus on.  They are my focus, and as such, I am simply going to list what I do.

-          Aerobic exercise – Get the heart rate to target rate for 45 minutes 3 times per week.  This helps with all conditions above but, depending upon the type of exercise, can increase the rate of spinal degeneration.  So caution.  I walk/hike which poses reasonably minimal risk to the spine and other joint structures.

-          Weight management – If you are losing weight through diet weigh yourself weekly.  If you are losing weight through exercise, weigh yourself monthly and measure your waist weekly.  If you are in weight maintenance mode, weigh yourself 2-3 times per week.  This helps with all above conditions.

-          Drink 64 ounces of water per day – This helps with all conditions.

-          Take natural anti-inflammatories and anti-oxidants – Substances such as turmeric, omega 3 fatty acids, krill oil, vitamin D3, and vitamin E help to reduce your overall levels of inflammation and oxidative risk.  This helps with all conditions above.

-          Stretching/flexibility exercise – The Lindwall Disc Pump Exercises, yoga, and general stretching help to maintain joint flexibility of the spine and other joints, pumping the cartilage with food, water, and oxygen.  This helps with condition 3 and 5 in particular.  For more information, read my article #56 - LITERATURE REVIEW of “Chiropractic Influence on Oxidative Stress and DNA Repair.”

-          Spinal adjustments – On a weekly basis to reduce inflammation, scar tissue, and nerve stress, as well as to increase motion.  This helps with all the top 5 due to the causal relationship between inflammation, nerve stress, and all disease. 

If you do other things, please share them with me.  If you don’t, pick one or two and go for it.   

            In 1999 the pain in my right buttock, thigh, calf, and foot was so bad that I actually was worried that I might be permanently disabled.  Every step came with a sharp stab of pain.  If you have read my story in one of my other articles this was about the time when I got my own “health-religion” and began taking very good care of myself in many ways, including, ironically, my spine.  But it took several months for my chiropractor and me to get this first problem under control.  And even today, if I don’t stay on top of the subluxation, the old pain can sneak back in, necessitating short periods of Intensive Care.  In 2009 I had another bout of low back pain in which I could not stand up without help and support.  I went through more months of Initial Intensive Care in addition to time-consuming decompression treatments.  In late 2010 I injured the plantar fascia of my right foot.  I re-injured it a couple of months later in the very same sport as the first injury, so I stopped playing that sport, called pickle-ball (Funny name…really fun to playL).  Months later just as it was improving, I ran less than a mile and I injured it again.  Over a year later after treating it at home every single night it finally healed.  So while I am your doctor I am also a devoted chiropractic patient.  And as a doctor I have learned many lessons that I employ every day to help you and my other patients.  But as a patient the greatest lesson I have learned is the lesson of patience.  I am the patient patient.

            How long does it take to recover from a heart attack, assuming you survive it?  Months?  Years?  Never?  It may take weeks to return to your normal activities.  It will take months for complete healing to occur.  But the heart will never ever be the same again.  Cells have died forever.  As a patient you accept this and know it will take a long time to recover.  You are going to have to change your lifestyle.  You are going to have to exercise, lose weight, change your diet, and on and on. 

            How long does it take to recover from cancer?  A more difficult question to answer since there are so many types of cancer.  But whether its breast cancer, lung cancer, bone cancer, or prostate cancer, the damaged tissues will never be the same again.  And again you accept this time-line, the length of recovery, 5 years until declared cancer-free.  And again you change your life-style, and do so willingly. 

            Beyond the fact that both of the above are life threatening diseases, the main reason I argue that we are willingly patient with these and other similar chronic diseases is simply that they are diseases.  We understand that diseased organs take time to become sick and time to heal.  We understand that diseased tissues may never be the same again.  After all, they are diseased.

            And that is exactly what subluxation of the spine is.  It is a disease of the joints of the spine.  It is Degenerative Disc Disease.  It is Erosive Cartilage Disease of the spinal facet joints.  It is the disease of spondylosis causing bone spurs on the spine.  It is the disease of disc herniation, protrusion, and prolapse.  It is a disease of pathomechanics of spinal motion.  It is a disease of hyper-inflammation, hyper-scar tissue formation, hypomobility, and hypermobility.  And ultimately it is a disease of cartilage, the only tissue in your body that has absolutely no blood supply of its own, and cannot heal or repair. 

            And yet, with my three tool model of chiropractic care, we can repair these diseases enough to reduce your pain and significantly slow the rate of degeneration.  I am awed by this every time I see it happen.  But because it is a disease, I am both the patient doctor and the patient patient.

I’ve been to many seminars in my time ranging from chiropractic, to educational, to scientific, to motivational.  I remember a few of the gems from some of those motivational seminars.  “Act enthusiastic and you’ll be enthusiastic.”  What a bunch of baloney.  There is nothing wrong with acting enthusiastic, but acting it will not by itself generate it.  “A successful man makes decisions quickly and changes them slowly.”  More hogwash.  That was said by some clown that wanted me to make a rash decision to give him lots of money.  I made a slow decision to keep my money and I’m still successful.  “A failure to plan is a plan to fail.”  What a bunch of…wait…you know what, I actually like that one.  Let’s look at that.  What’s your plan?

            If you have ever taken a vacation it requires planning.  Reservations, travel arrangements, rental car, hotel, transfers, someone to take care of the house, the dog, the pool, a packing list, cleaning the house before you leave, and taking out the trash.  And you have a plan to get up in the morning, a plan to get ready for work, a plan to get to work, a plan to work, a plan for lunch, a plan to get home, a plan to eat dinner, a plan get to bed.  You have a plan for the weekend, a plan for a wedding, a plan for a party, a plan for retirement, a plan for raising the kids, and on and on and on.  That is not to say that you might not change your plans or that at times you sometimes go without a plan.  But when you go planless you think “I’m not going to plan this out.  I’ll just go with the flow.”  You actually plan to go without a plan.  We plan everything, except our health.

            We just take our health as it comes.  We take it for granted until we lose it.  “I’ve got to die of something,” I hear from many.  Well that may be true but you do have some control over when and what of.  My goal is to live a long happy life with good health and mobility until that final moment then I want to go quickly and quietly.  My goal is to avoid medicine, medical doctors and hospitals as much as I can from now to then.  To do this I have a plan and I urge you to make your own plan.  A failure to plan is a plan to fail, and failing in health may be the greatest failure there is. 

            My plan starts with the center of my health, my spine.  I plan to get adjusted every week, and occasionally more, and to do my disc-pump exercises daily, to keep my spine mobile and free of scar tissue, inflammation and nerve stress.  I plan to get my heart rate up to its target zone for a minimum 2.25 hour each week by hiking up and down hills, to do 100-200 pushups every week to maintain upper body muscle tone as I age, to drink 64 oz. of water per day to keep my cells flushed, to take a variety of supplements to reduce oxidation and inflammation, to eat a reasonable and manageable diet to maintain my weight, to get enough sleep nightly for daily body regeneration.  No less important I also plan to work on and maintain relationships with my wife, family, and friends for emotional health.  Finally, I plan to introduce one new item into my health regimen as the old ones become firmly entrenched in my daily schedule so that I can continue to counter the aging process as best as I can.  I call this “Just One More Thing.” 

            Do you have a plan for your health?  How about for your family’s health?  I invite you to participate.  You’ll be happy you did.  Mostly you’ll regret it later if you don’t.